betts



O. L. BETTS. Air Tight Can.

No, 232,925. Patented Oct. 5, 1880..

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NJErERs, FHDTO-LITHQGRAPHER. WASHLNGTON. D c.

Warren "Earns Pariewr rrren.

CHARLES L. BE'ITS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO LEW'IS F. BETTS, OF SAME PLACE.

AlR-TlGl-l'l' CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 232,925, dated October 5, 1880. Application filed February 25, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CHARLES L. BETTS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Tight Cans, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, the same not having been, to my knowledge, heretofore patented in any foreign country.

My invention has'relation to that class of devices ordinarily d enomiuated air-tightcans, and especially to such as are employed for packing and shipping butter.

The object of my invention is to provide an air-tight can for the above and analogous purposesjf which, may be easily and cheaply constructed, and in which the cover may be readily and securely locked.

To accomplish this the invention. consists in certain new an d useful peculiarities of construction or relative combinations or arrangements of parts, all of which will be hereinafter first fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of my improved can. Fig. 2 is a perspectiw e view of the locking-ring when open, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same when closed.

Like letters of reference wherever they occur indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

In the packing, shipment, and preservation of butter it is found that the great difficulty to be overcome is to pack the same in such a manner as to exclude the air from contact therewith, and at the same time secure the cover upon the receptacle in which it is placed, so that it may be easily and quickly removed for inspection, or to take out a portion of the contents thereof, and the cover again replaced and secured thereon as perfectly as before.

A represents the body of the can, which may be made of sheet metal, glass, or earthenware for small cans 5 or, when it is desired to construct a can for holding a large quantity of butter, the same may be made of cast metal,

any desired shape or ferred.

Near the top of the can is a bead, B, pressed, molded, or otherwise formed thereon. said bead is a furrow or groove, 0, intended to hold a paekinggasket, D, made of rubber or other suitable material, the gasket'fitting closely around the can for the purpose of rendering the joint air-tight when the cover is placed upon the can.

The cover or lid E may be of metal, stamped, spun,cast, or otherwise formed. It is provided with a furrow or groove around the rim, which, turning downwardly, exactly corresponds with the furrow or groove 0 in the body of the can. The lower edge of the rim flares outwardly to one-half the width of the head 13, thus ing a perfectly air-tight joint.

F is a metal ring fitting nicely over the top edge of the cover and under the lower side of the bead B. This ring exactly fits around the cover and top of the can, and in order that it may pass over the same and then fit closely thereto it is out or split, as at f, Fig. 2, and provided with the halfring G, riveted to the opposite sides of the ring F, as at g, in such, a manner as to easily turn upon said rivets for the purpose of opening and closing the ring F and locking and unlocking the same upon the can. Fig. 3 shows the ring F with the half-ring G closed down thereon, bringing the two edges of the out closely together.

When the rubber gasket is placed in the furrow or groove 0, the cover E fitted thereon, the ring F passed over the rim of the cover, and the bead B on the can, (the half-ring G being raised, as shown at Fig. 2,) and then the 'halfring G pressed down around the ring F, as shown in Fig. 3, the flaring rim of the cover is forced tightly against the rubber gasket D and down upon the top of the can, thus forming a perfectly air-tight joint, and hermetically sealing the same.

In opening the can, all that is necessaryis to raise the half-ring G, thereby loosening the ring F so it can be removed and the cover raised from the can.

Upon the body of the can, below the head, are placed ears Hfor the purpose of attaching size being made, as pre- Above formthe bail or handle K, for convenience in carrying and handling the same.

When intended for the sale and delivery of butter in small quantities, as is done in cities, the cans may be made to hold one, two, or more pounds. These cans may be filled at the dairy, and the cover secured thereon, excluding the air. For convenience in packing the bail is made to fit closely to the side of the can when turned down, thus enabling close and economical packing of a large number of cans in a small space.

Thus it will be seen that my invention admirably answers the several purposes and ob- 15 jects, as previously explained.

In the patent to L. F. Betts, dated July 23, 1872, there is shown a packinggasket made to bear against the jar and its cover, the same being held in place by a split ring, with which is connected a continuous band made to tit over said split rin In the present case it will be observed that the cover fits over the packing-gasket, and that the split ring is bent at its upper and lower sides, as explained, so as tofgrasp the top of the cover and a bead upon the can, and that the holding-ring reaches only part way round the cover, being hinged upon the split ring, so that it may be turned up to release said split ring while the latter is still in place upon the cover.

To the form shown in the aforesaid patent to L. F. Betts I desire it understood that I make no claim; but,

Having now fully described my invention, what I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a can or receptacle intended for excluding the air from contact with its contents, the combination, with the body of the can, of an air-tight cover fitting over a packing-gasket around the top of said can, and the split binding-ring bent at top and bottom and fitting over the edge of the cover and under a bead upon the body of the can, said bindingring being secured in place by the half-ring Gr hinged thereto, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a can or receptacle, the rubber packing-gasket, in combination with the bead upon the body of the can, the furrow thereabove, and the split binding-ring held in proper place by the half-ring which is hinged thereto, said split binding-ring being bent at its upper and lower edges to enable it to bear upon the edge of the cover and upon the lower side of the 5 bead, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses: CHARLES L. BEITS.

O. A. SAWYER, J NO. 0. l\IACGREG()R. 

